Course Description

In this course, we consider representations of women and the feminine in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the related literature of early Judaism and Christianity. We explore the roles female characters play in biblical narratives (as wives and mothers, queens and victims, prophets and and prostitutes) and the symbolic uses of the feminine in these traditions (from personifications of Divine Wisdom to monstrous images of degradation, debauchery, and danger). What do these materials tell us about the lives of women in ancient societies and their roles in early Jewish and Christian communities? How have these texts, which are among the most disturbing and difficult in the biblical tradition, been interpreted in the history of Western culture? How do they continue to shape attitudes about women, gender, and sexuality in the contemporary world?